At War With Corruption; A Biography of Bill Price, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma
Oklahoma: 2 Cities Press, 2021. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. xix, [1], 466, [2] pages. Foreword by Frank Keating. Illustrations (some with color). Endnotes. Bibliography. Index. The author wrote that when he completed my Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Virginia in 2007, I assumed I would build a career in the company of scholars. But life had other plans. George Records, a businessman and civic leader in my hometown, Oklahoma City, asked me to write a book about his family and the bank he founded. That took me back to the Pennsylvania and New York frontiers, where his and his wife’s ancestors personified America’s pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit. About the same time, I went on the Oklahoma Historical Society’s payroll to research banking and business history in my native state. I turned that into a book project and wrote a two-volume history of banking in Oklahoma. When BancFirst President and CEO David Rainbolt asked me to write a corporate history for the bank’s top brass and key customers, I published it as a 2 Cities Press book. Recently, he had an opportunity to write a biography of former U.S. Attorney Bill Price, the biggest corruption buster in Oklahoma history and, as noted by Fifth District Congressman Tom Cole, the best governor Oklahoma never had. At War with Corruption began as a biography of Bill Price, the U.S. attorney and Republican candidate for high office who spearheaded prosecutions in the most pervasive public corruption spectacle in American history: the Oklahoma county commissioner scandal. Price’s determination to root out the rascals and restore faith in governance branded him as the biggest corruption buster in the state’s history. Price’s career in law and politics serves as a portal into corruption in Oklahoma. Episodes in that narrative include land swindles (soonerism) at the dawn of Oklahoma history; theft of Native Americans’ property and steamrolling of their cultures that reached a nadir in the Osage murders; the Supreme Court scandal of 1964–65; Leo Winters’ alleged misuse of state taxes; Governor David Hall’s trial and conviction on charges of extortion; prosecutions of drug syndicates, Penn Square Bank insiders, and Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners on the take; and the systemic bribery in county governance that inspired this book. Price shatters the myth that Oklahomans have been uniquely tolerant of, and susceptible to, corruption. He blames structural flaws and inadequate legislation for tempting law-abiding citizens to heed the call of their darker angels. Although Price failed in his gubernatorial and congressional campaigns, he has influenced policy through philanthropies that set a high bar for civic engagement. At War with Corruption reveals the sinister side of human nature. Yet its intention is not to depress, but rather to uplift and to show what is possible when public servants work together to frame effective laws and promote justice. At War with Corruption began as a biography of Bill Price, the U.S. Attorney and Republican candidate for high office who spearheaded prosecutions in the most pervasive public corruption spectacle in American history: the Oklahoma county commissioner scandal. Price’s determination to root out the rascals and restore faith in governance branded him as the biggest corruption buster in the state’s history. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: William Price, Bill Price, United States Attorney, Oklahoma, Corruption, Western District, Bribery, Federal Aviation, David Hall, Law Enforcement, Kickbacks, Okscam, Advisory Commission on Public Commission
ISBN: 9780984705634
[Book #85132]
Price: $45.00